SOS - SZA: Review
is one of the most beloved stars of modern R&B whose 2017 album CTRL has become one of the genre's most endearing modern classics. After releasing singles here and there for years it's all come together on her highly anticipated follow-up album SOS. While hype has been building for the project for years the actual release cycle was relatively short with SZA announcing the record's release date on SNL less than a week before it dropped.
Review by Lav:
If you've followed me on ANY of my social media for the past month you know that I don't just love SZA, I'm obsessed. An album that I liked and reviewed positively in 2017, CTRL slowly became one of my favorite records of the 2010s as her journey from side-chick to self-actualized and empowered modern woman scratched an itch over and over again. Not only that but I have LOVED almost every single she's released in the years since most of which do end up on the tracklist despite being years old. That was one of the reservations I had about the record going into it, along with the bulky tracklist. But what I should have done is trusted in the blind faith SZA had earned from her fans, because SOS delivers on just about everything I could have wanted from it.
Let me make one thing clear right away, the trio of singles that made it onto the list gave me hesitancy because it's the kind of thing an artist does to pad out the tracklist of a record, not because they're bad songs. In fact, I think they're all three great songs. Good Days was a big hit and I love the song's charming optimism and infectious instrumental. I Hate U was one of my favorite singles of last year which comes spring-loaded with an instantaneous beat and an even more instantaneous hook. And just a few weeks ago, SZA dropped Shirt, which I can't get enough of with a transition from verse to chorus that I find completely irresistible.
Another worry I had going into the album was just how long the tracklist was. I was worried that SZA felt like she had to pack the record FULL of songs because of the hype built up for the record and how long it had been since CTRL and I can't completely disprove that. What I can say is that this record certainly isn't trying to waste your time and it's not trying to ham up any streaming numbers either, the shortest songs in the mix are both fantastic. SOS is the opener and SZA doesn't waste any time getting right into her beautiful vocals and great harmonies while also using the song to start some shit that will go on to get explored all throughout the record. Smoking On My Ex Pack is barely a minute long, but it sees SZA going absolutely IN on an ex in an instantly satisfying way. I also think it might be the most astounding production job on the entire record and Jay Versace deserves a ton of credit for how great it sounds.
Another thing that interested me and many others in the lead-up to this record is the features. For the most part, SZA uses them similarly to how they were deployed on CTRL, helping her achieve more authentic fusions of R&B and hip hop. Travis Scott has a verse on Open Arms that I was excited about because of how great the pair have been together in the past. It's a gentle and heartfelt ballad of a song that plays on their great chemistry and while it may not be Love Galore, it's not that far behind. He also makes an uncredited appearance on Low which sees SZA getting cutthroat on the lyrical front. Hearing a woman demand something be on the down low, and it actually being on a good song (looking at your Saweetie) is great.
Don Toliver shows up on Used and while I've never been crazy about his music I've always thought he had potential as a vocalist. Unfortunately, he has very little chemistry with SZA and the song suffers from how disconnected his hook is from the rest of the song. While the track sounds great from a technical standpoint it doesn't carry the emotional weight of most of these tracks. I feel kind of similar about the closing track Foregiveless which has some really confident and intense verses from SZA that meet the moment of the wild instrumental. What's weird is the ODB interpolation which kind of comes out of nowhere and I'm not really sure what purpose it serves or what it might even be trying to convey.
The other feature on the record was the most unexpected one and it kicks off a trio of songs right in the middle of the tracklist that adds some stylistic variety. I wasn't sure how Phoebe Bridgers and SZA would mesh on Ghost In The Machine especially when the song starts out sounding so similar to Halloween from Phoebe's last album. Thankfully, the instrumental shifts to something much more between both of their styles, and at the end of the day this is just a fantastic SZA song with a memorable hook and outstanding second verse that also just happens to have a pretty good performance from Phoebe on the back end of it.
F2F has garnered a lot of attention and discussion because it's a straight-up pop-punk song. Seeing SZA go for some very blatant pop-punk tropes gave me flashbacks of MGK and Yungblud but I think the talent she brings as a performer and songwriter definitely elevates the song. Nothing she says on the lyrical front is as embarrassingly melodramatic as the sound would indicate and I don't mind the energy it injects into the record. I was a little iffy about Nobody Gets Me at first because SZA playing the misunderstood type felt weird given how famous she is for making music that people love to much because they directly relate to it. Turns out it has much more of a romantic sentiment and the point is more to say that one specific person understands her so much more than everyone else thinks they do. In the light, the simple instrumental also makes a lot more sense and I've come to enjoy the song.
That was a lot of praise so let's take a quick break to talk about one of the only issues I have with the record, the length. Really, it isn't the 70-minute runtime that bothers me as these songs almost all use their individual lengths effectively and there are even some that I wouldn't mind going on even longer. It's more that a few songs sneak in that are clearly not as good as the rest of the songs on the record, occasionally they're obviously not up to speed. Too Late is the biggest offender as it so obviously sounds like SZA tried to remake the magic of Good Days but with Still Woozy on production instead of Jacob Collier and it doesn't really work. My main issue with the song is the contrast between the sound of the instrumental and the reality of the lyrics because a lot of the refrains and singing here is fine, but the fairy tale strings and stuttering drums do an awful job supporting it.
Snooze is a song I wouldn't mind being left off the record. It revolves around the thematic device of snoozing an alarm representing missing meaningful moments in a relationship, though not in a literal way like sleeping through them. The biggest complaint I have with it is all the refrains on the song that sound suspiciously like other SZA tracks, though it also has one of the record's most boring instrumentals to match. The final example is Conceited which serves as the record's most nondescript song that feels like anyone could have written it. As you might expect it's more about SZA being content in her own accomplishments than being genuinely conceited but the beat isn't really all there and there aren't very many hooky refrains.
That's pretty much all the complaining I have to do about the record. There are a few tracks left that just make for pretty solid deep cuts. Seek & Destroy has a bouncy watery beat that really sucks me in and a great bridge that sets up for yet another in the record's deep well of memorable hooks. Notice Me took a while to grow on me but the slight little tropical flavors and the idea of not wanting to be someone's girlfriend but instead being their "person" really clicks with me. Far is also a lyrical highlight where SZA confronts how far she's been pulled from who she used to be and does it with another great hook.
I think much like CTRL the album might not be watertight for its entire tracklist, but it's the highlights that will make this record a classic. Alongside the trio of singles, Ghost In the Machine and Open Arms it's these remaining five tracks that propel SOS to great status. Kill Bill helps carry on the SZA tradition of starting off projects with great songs. It's called Kill Bill because it's about killing your ex which is delivered with a darkly hilarious and instantly memorable refrain on the hook. I also love the idea of rather being in hell or jail than being lonely.
Love Language is the first song on the record to get directly sensual not just explicitly sexual. As the track goes on though it starts to feel more like a tragedy as the love languages of SZA and her partner are clearly incompatible. It's a shame that the song's outro is pitched so far down because it adds a lot of context to the pain of sticking in a relationship for no other reason than not wanting to be lonely. I first heard Blind when SZA debuted it on SNL and I immediately fell in love with it. Not only is "my pussy precedes me" one of the best lyrics SZA has ever written and while the theme of returning to an ex just for validation isn't new for her this might be the most earnest and raw confrontation of it she's ever released. Not to mention it has the wonderful restraint to play it very gently on the instrumental front which is an absolutely perfect accompaniment.
Gone Girl is another instant SZA classic that you really need to hear to really get it. The shift from the first verse into the first hook is pure brilliance and SZA's breathy melodies throughout are absolutely beautiful. The song is incredible and if there was any track here that might be her best work yet, it's this one. Special is another beautiful song that feels like a spiritual sequel to my favorite SZA track Drew Barrymore. The song sees her lamenting that she isn't a "special" girl but only as seen through the eyes of whoever she's attracted to at the time. It's a great meditation on jealousy and loneliness and I think she comes out the other side more intent on doing whatever is right for herself and not anybody else, it's amazing.
Those high points tell the story of SOS. Once again SZA delivers a collection of tracks that are spectacularly down to earth both sonically and thematically which comes from her desire to show every single side of herself. From the most empowering and outgoing moments on the record to the most vulnerable and self-reflective everything it delivers feels earned through great writing and an understanding of how to translate feelings into music. As much fun as some of the record's hardest-hitting bangers can be, it's the most intimate, sparse, and quiet tracks where SZA shines her brightest. It can be easy to fall into the trap of pointing out the smaller flaws that exist in the tracklist, and they are there. But starting from the opening moments of SOS and listening through to the last second of Forgiveless is a treat every single time and just like its predecessor CTRL it has more than enough brilliance to serve as a landmark R&B record for at least five years until SZA is ready to come back and do it again. 8.5/10
For more R&B check out my review of Steve Lacy's Gemini Rights here
